1 Little Girl Killed, Another Injured In Dresser Accident

ALIQUIPPA (KDKA) –One girl has died and another remains in the hospital after a dresser fell on top of them Friday morning.

According to officials at the scene, the incident happened at a home in the 1000-block of Irwin Street in Aliquippa around 11 a.m.

The girls, ages 2 and 3, were unresponsive and taken to a local hospital. The 2-year-old girl later died.

Aliquippa Police said the other girl is fighting for her life in the hospital.

“The dad, he said he was running bath water and he heard a boom,” said neighbor Joseph Sheppard. “And he ran in there and I guess he lifted it up (the dresser) and (brought) them outside.”

Mayor Dwan Walker and the Aliquippa Police Chief had just returned from a Fourth of July parade in Midland when the the chief got the call. They rushed to the home — Mayor Walker says several police and firefighters tried desperately to save the children, giving them CPR.

“They immediately started going to work,” Walker said. “I mean I gotta commend the fire department and the police department for their efforts, because they — you gotta understand, they did everything they could.”

But despite their efforts, 2-year-old Brooklyn Beatty died. Her 3-year-old sister Ryeley is being treated at Children’s Hospital.

Friday night, at the fireworks display, R.J. Pennington, a captain in the Aliquippa Fire Department, said, “It (the accident) makes you want to go home after work and hug your kids and make sure they know that you love them.”

Mike Whitfield, a father of two, said the dresser accident was a real tragedy.

Aliquippa Police are investigating. An autopsy will be conducted tomorrow on Brooklyn Beatty.